Australian woman traces her family roots to Dumbarton's famous glassworks

Jennifer Beattie handing over a painting of the glassworks to West Dunbartonshire Council's museums collection officer Andrew Graham

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An Australian woman traced her family roots to Dumbarton’s famous glassworks and made an emotional visit to return treasured heirlooms to their historic home.

Jennifer Beattie travelled to the town, which is 10,500 miles from her home in Sydney, to generously donate memorabilia connected to the factory.

Established in 1777, it was once the most influential glassworks in Britain — employing hundreds of skilled workers across the area.

Sitting near the banks of the River Leven, the skyline of the town would have been dominated by the three distinctive cones of the glassworks, which would have billowed with smoke from the fires raging below.

Jennifer’s great-great grandfather was James Robert Brown Christie — the last owner of the factory before it closed its doors for the final time in 1850.

Last week, the Lennox Herald met with Jennifer, 72, to find out more about her historical link with the town.

For years, she has treasured an 1840 painting of the glassworks by Dumbarton artist Alexander Brown, personal diaries, a family bible and a beautiful adorned seal, which would have been stamped into wax to close official letters sent by the company.

They belonged to Jennifer’s uncle Walter Bartholomew Christie, whose father was James Christie — the son of the glassworks owner.

A portrait of James Christie, the last owner of Dumbarton's glassworks

The marine engineer moved to Australia for reasons unknown and went on to have five children — one of whom is Jennifer’s grandmother.

Jennifer said: “My mother used to tell me about the history of our family and the glassworks but we didn’t uncover all these items until my great uncle died.

“I really wanted to bring them back to Dumbarton because they began their lives here and they belong here.

“I’ve been looking into the history of it for the past 30 years and it is fascinating. I am really happy to be in a position where I can return these back to where they belong.

“They have been to the opposite side of the world and their journey is now complete. It’s reassuring to know they are in good hands and won’t be lost forever.

“This is my third visit to Scotland having first come here in 2009. I visited Dumbarton for the first time and stood where the glassworks once was.”

Shedding a tear, she added: “It was a really emotional journey and so is this. It is the last time I will visit Scotland and it is the right thing to do.”

A poster advertising the sale of the works for £2,500

Jennifer found out about a special exhibition West Dunbartonshire Council is currently organising to showcase the history of the glassworks and decided it was the perfect opportunity to make the journey over.

Held in the next year, it will feature preserved items including pieces made in the factory, which are more than 200 years old, as well as extensive information on the history of the works.

The most prominent owners of the glassworks were the Dixon family, who established control in 1817 which lasted until 1832.

The Dixons became one of the wealthiest glass manufacturers in Scotland and were closely involved in the life of Dumbarton, going as far as offering the town large sums of money to pay off debts.

The glassworks owned, at various stages, five coal works, four tramways, two structures to help moor vessels, two bottle works, a brewery, a farm and seven sailing vessels. It was a massive enterprise, almost completely self-sufficient, and Dumbarton was the perfect location for it with its close proximity to coal and kelp, required to make the glass.

Initially, the company produced bottles but, early on in its history, switched to producing glass for windows.

The conditions in the glassworks were very uncomfortable. Work was extremely hot and the glasshouses were dark and had little ventilation.

It is not known exactly how many men were employed there but 300 is a popular estimate.

Andrew Graham, collections officer for West Dunbartonshire Council, is helping organise the exhibition and told how James Christie took ownership of the factory.

The seal shows the factory's distinctive three cones and would have been stamped into wax and used to close official letters from the company

He said: “Father and son ran the company and they both suddenly died within two days of each other. There was years of litigation and Mr Christie bought the company in 1838.

“He was a great benefactor of the town but in the end he was fighting a losing battle to keep it open as taxes were sky high.

“Dumbarton was on its feet by that point with the closure of the glassworks, other businesses were shutting down and cholera was rife.

“But soon after that Denny’s shipyard really took off and was built on part of the ground which had been occupied by the glassworks.”

He added: “The exhibition will offer an extensive look at its history and will include some unusual items like glass walking sticks and ornamental glass ships, which workers would make from any spare glass left over at the end of the day.”

Bailie Denis Agnew said: “We are delighted to receive the painting, seal and other artefacts, which are an important part of West Dunbartonshire history and its enduring legacy. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Mrs Beattie for donating these items to the museum collection. It is important to have these artefacts back home in West Dunbartonshire.”

● More details of the exhibition will be made available towards the end of the year.